We Want Peace and Disarmament

In a time of heightened awareness of the extreme levels of firepower being positioned against one another, The Soviet Union and The United States raged on in what is today known as the cold war. Ironically this cold war was rather active, spanning across Vietnam and Korea, both powers obviously opposed in the fighting but without The Soviets or United States ever directly engaging for fear of nuclear fallout.

Outside of this context, a different battle was heralded, one in the hearts and minds of the peoples of the Soviet Union and United States. Both governments clearly trying to convince their citizenry that the other one was a threat, not only to their own way of life, but to the cohesive existence of the entire world.

The image pictured here is meant to display just that, as one power holds up the wanting of peace by the other. This piece of Soviet propaganda displays a strong, able bodied young man clad entirely in red with the hammer and sickle of The Soviet Union plastered across his chest. In this context he is obviously supposed to represent the entirety of the Soviet state, though particularly the government. Interesting that he is portrayed as a young, working man then, if he represents the Soviet government trying to extend peace across the world. This use of imagery reflects the Soviet ideal that it was the working man who had the power here (even if untrue), and through his efforts that peace would be obtained.

Counter to him is a caricature of Uncle Sam meant to represent the United States. Here he is pictured as fat, overly so in an attempt to exude a life lived in excess, not just of food but in all things. This is a slight against the United States as it would also imply that they have too much to begin with, yet they are war mongers who are constantly reaching for more.

The war monger image is furthered by the Uncle Sam figure refusing to sign a coalition for world peace extended by The Soviet representative. In this way it is blatantly obvious that The Soviets are holding themselves up as the bastions and bringers of peace and order to the world, and that it is the violent, extreme Americans who happen to also have nuclear weapons who are standing in the way of the happiness of everyone.

From an outsider looking in, this would also seem like a fair assessment, given that The United States was directly involved in ground wars first in Korea, and then later in Vietnam in order to “stop the spread of communism”. However, neither side was truly passive or wholly aggressive in their endeavors during this cold war.

Brewer, Susan A. Why America Fights: Patriotism and War Propaganda from the Philippines to Iraq. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.

People are Waiting. 1965. https://lageneralista.com/cold-war-mentalities-die-hard-propaganda-1-people-0/